High Adventure

Angie went to Young Women High Adventure. The stake took about 20 girls to the City of Rocks. I took her to the Stake Center to meet with the other girls and leaders that were going. Connie and Bill went, but they left a day early to set up camp. Angie was a little nervous. She does not like new things, but I knew she would love it--and she did. She had a great time. In fact, we had a lot of good reports that she did really well at the camp.

Angie came from High Adventure on Pioneer Day. Since it is not a holiday in Idaho, I had to work. Usually, our ward celebrates with the Downey First Ward at the Fairgrounds, but the virus killed that. We celebrated by watching the movie Greyhound starring Tom Hanks. It was really good--about the navy protecting convoys across the north Atlantic during World War II.

We held Sacrament Meeting at the chapel. Again, it was good to see fellow ward members and join in their spirit.

Spending More Money

When I was driving to work on Wednesday, I noticed the low tire pressure was on. I thought, I need to get it filled when I get to work. Then, the tire started to thump. I pulled off the freeway at the Arimo exit (actually right next to the on ramp). I got out to change the tire and started to loosen the lug nuts. I noticed one lug nut was different and could not but the tire wrench on it. I did some investigating and found a small bag with lug nuts. I discovered that locking nuts had been put on the car, but the key to unlock them were not there. I was perplexed what to do. Since I was next to Connie and Bill's I called them. They came over to help. After trying to figure out what to do, we decided to pound a socket onto the lug nut. It worked. We were able to get the tire off. That afternoon, Deb and I went to Ron Keller Tire in Preston. When the tire went flat, I drove it too far so we had to get another tire. Fortunately, they had a used one that they sold to us for $40. I found out that Honda dealerships have a key, and we can replace the locking lug nuts with regular nuts. We are going to have to do that--I do not want to be stuck on the freeway with no way to change the tire!

We had the pickup fixed up this week. It was almost $1000, but now we have a vehicle that is a little more reliable. Now we need to get the tires replaced on it.

A New Car!

We started the week in Salt Lake City. Deb had a follow-up appointment with the University of Utah Neuroscience Clinic. They were pleased with her recovery. Her next appointment will be in November for a scan to make sure the aneurysm is OK.

After the appointment, we (Deb, Angie, and I--Lilli stayed with Grandma) went to look at cars. It was hot. We thought we had found the car, but since it was a salvaged title, the credit union would not finance it. They only finance 50% of the value of salvaged cars, and the dealer was asking for about 75%. We had to pass on it.

I took Friday off, and, again, Deb, Angie, and I went car shopping. We drove through Logan and Brigham City looking for cars. We then stopped in Ogden to look at a car we saw on Monday, but the dealership was closed when we got there on Monday. So we returned. It was a nice car, we drove it, then decided to buy it. By them time we made the decision, the credit union was about to close so we made arrangements to have them get the financing on Saturday.

Saturday we purchased a 2012 Honda Odyssey. It is a nice car. We are happy with it.

We returned to church today. We only had Sacrament Meeting, but it was wonderful to feel the spirit of fellow ward members. 

An Eventful Week

We had quite an eventful week. Angie's Adoption Day was on Tuesday. I am sure she will never forget this year's day since Deb and I each had a colonoscopy. We started the "cleansing" process on Monday evening. Angie then drove us to the clinic in Pocatello. Since she could not go into the clinic, she had to wait for us in the car. Of course, when we got home, Deb and I went straight to bed and slept most of the day. That evening, we watched Just Mercy starring Michael B. Jordan. It was a great movie. Fortunately for Angie, we did celebrate by going out to dinner a few days late.

With Independence Day being on Saturday, I got Friday off. On Saturday, we went to the parade in Arimo (one of the few places that still held a parade). We then went to Mom's to celebrate. We grilled some burgers then watched Hamilton on Disney. It was really good.

We had planned to go to Malad to watch the fireworks, but we got away too late from Mom's. We found out that Arimo was doing a homemade firework show, so we went there. It was pretty good for a privately funded show.

A New Normal?

 It is our "new" normal. I go to work (wearing a mask all day!) while the family is home quarantined--sort of. We do not do much else than the necessary things. Deb is still going to doctor appointments. Angie is working at Downata, and Lilli does what she wants!

Angie is working on a project. She saw that someone had made a bed out of pallets so she is gathering pallets to make a new bed.

Back to Work

I returned to work this past week. Only half of the office is really back to work. Oh well. I have fewer distractions at work so I guess that is good.

Deb went to see Dr. Martin. She suggested that she get some therapy to help her get in a better place. Deb has not been very happy since her diagnosis. Hopefully, she will return to her happy self.

I had a very frustrating day on Wednesday. It seemed everything that I tried to get done did not get done. Things did not work right at all. Then when I got in the car to go home, the rear driver side tire was flat. UGH! To top it all off, I could not get one lug nut loose no matter what I tried. Thankfully, Spencer Salvesen from the Holt Arena maintenance staff was still at work, and he got a breaker bar to get the nut loosened. I had even ended work at the right time and was looking forward to a nice relaxing evening at home. NOT TO BE! When we got the tire fixed, they said that the tire had a piece of bone in it. I must have ran over a dead animal on the road at some time.

Angie has become a full-blown teenager. She decided she wanted to go to her friend's house. She never really asked to go--just told us. It was a little frustrating since Mom wanted her to mow her lawn. We told Angie she needed to do it since she had told her grandmother that she would, but it was more important to be with her friends. To think, the teenage years are just beginning!

Saturday, Angie and I went to Logan to look at some cars. There was not much there. At Murdock Buick GMC we test drove a Mitsubishi. It was a nice car but too small for us. After the test drive, we just got into our car and drove off without talking to the sales lady who let us go on a test drive. She came running out to us when she saw us leave, but I just drove on. Angie laughed about me leaving.

Lynn and Leisha invited us to attend Sacrament Meeting with them on Father's Day. So, we went to the "Webb Canyon Branch" with their family. It was fun. Afterwards, we had brunch then visited. It was a good Father's Day.

Busy Week

It was a very busy week. It seemed like all we did was doctor appointments!

Deb had her staples removed. She was really nervous about it. I kept telling her it would not be too bad. After it was over, she said it was a lot more worse than I had lead on. At least they are out and her wound can heal completely.

Thursday was a very busy day! In the morning, Deb had her C-PAP set up. The gal that replaced me when I left the Regional Special Education Office came to help Deb set up her C-PAP. She said that after the state closed the office, she worked for some time in other positions within the College of Education while also getting a degree. After she graduated, she got her job with Lincare setting up C-PAPs and other things. In any event, Deb started using her machine. She was really nervous trying to get to sleep but she did WAY better than me on her first night. Not only her first night, but her first week. I really struggled keeping the mask on, and she has done great.

In the afternoon, Angie and I went to Pocatello. Angie had an appointment with Dr. David Donaldson with Pocatello Ear, Nose, and Throat. During her physical last fall, she had some earwax buildup so we finally got around to getting it cleaned out. After the exam, the doctor told us that Angie has some large membranes in her throat and said that she had juvenile sleep disorder. Essentially, she has the youth version of sleep apnea. He told her to get a nasal spray to use for a month to see if it helps get the membranes to normal size. The doctor also said that her tonsils were larger than normal and may need to be taken care of in the future. After the ENT appointment, we went to the eye doctor. Angie's eyes have gotten a little worse so she got a new prescription.

While we were in Poky, Lilli had her appointment with Doug Gallup of Family Services. She said it went well, and Deb said that the counselor said that he felt Lilli had progressed as much as she can. He suggested that she may want some more counseling when she resumes school next fall.

On Friday, I took Angie and Lilli to their appointment of neurofeedback with Bret Judd. On the way home, we dropped off Lilli at her friend's house in Arimo so that she can stay overnight. Later, I took Angie to the Suttons for a party.

Truly, it was a busy week!